Founded in 1753, the Susquehanna Company sought to permit European settlement near the Susquehanna River using an argument that the area was granted in Connecticut’s 1662 charter. (Jackson Kuhl, “The Incredibly Convoluted History of Westmoreland County, Connecticut,” Journal of the American Revolution, 29 October 2014 (https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/10/the-incredibly-convoluted-history-of-westmoreland-county-connecticut/: accessed 18 April 2024). Settlement in the area began – after much conflict – in 1769. (Kuhl, “The Incredibly Convoluted History”.) In 1773, Connecticut was given Royal permission for the settlement. (“Connecticut’s Susquehanna Settlers,” CT State Library (https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hg/maps/susquehanna: accessed 19 April 2024)).
However, Connecticut was not the only colony with a claim to the area: Pennsylvania had one as well. (“Connecticut’s Susquehanna Settlers.”) The two sides were involved in a series of skirmishes that lasted from 1763 to 1799 that came to be known as the Yankee-Pennamite Wars. (Thomas Verenna, “Connecticut Yankees in a Pennamite’s Fort,” Journal of the American Revolution, 20 February 2014 (https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/02/connecticut-yankees-in-a-pennamites-fort/: accessed 20 April 2024)).
Only in 1799 did the two states come to an agreement allowing the settlers from Connecticut to remain – although the land would belong to the state of Pennsylvania. (“December 28: When Eastern Pennsylvania Belonged to Connecticut,” Today in Connecticut History, 28 December 2023 (https://todayincthistory.com/2023/12/28/december-28-when-eastern-pennsylvania-belonged-to-connecticut-4/: accessed 20 April 2024)).
Resources:
“Connecticut’s Susquehanna Settlers,” CT State Library (https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hg/maps/susquehanna: accessed 19 April 2024).
Connecticut Roots by Charter Oak Genealogy 